Scotland make four changes for Sunday's World Cup pool meeting with Tonga in Nice.

Centre Chris Harris and loose-head prop Rory Sutherland are also handed starts by head coach Gregor Townsend.

Darcy Graham, Huw Jones and Pierre Schoeman are among the replacements, while Grant Gilchrist is missing.

Hooker Ewan Ashman, second-row Sam Skinner and scrum-half George Horne are added to the options on the bench.

Sutherland, currently without a club, will make only his second start for the national team in 19 months.

Tonga started their campaign with a 59-16 defeat to Ireland.

"We need to get our World Cup started," said Townsend.

"If we a lose a game now, we're out of the tournament and we have to approach every game with that mentality.

"We're putting out as strong a team as we can. The last 20 to 30 minutes are going to be really important, so to have players like Darcy Graham, Huw Jones and George Horne coming off the bench could be as important as the guys who get to start.

"There will be times when it's tough for us defensively, especially in the wide channels, so having Chris Harris in there can bring out his strengths.

"I thought Tonga played well against Ireland and had opportunities that they might have taken on another day and they applied a lot of pressure with their work in the breakdown."

Scotland failed to get a foothold against the suffocating defence of 2019 champions South Africa and had problems with their lineout.

"We didn't play at our best against South Africa and we have to win the next three games to get out of the pool," said Townsend. "That's the challenge ahead of us.

"The response we've had in training has been excellent. The players are in a really good space physically and you can see the determination that they want to play better this time.

"We believe in our fitness and our game but it is important that we are accurate. If we're not accurate, we're not going to get the opportunities to pressure Tonga."

'Plenty attacking weapons on bench' - analysis

Andy Burke, BBC Sport Scotland in Nice

With Scotland's margin for error in Pool B extinguished with an opening defeat to South Africa, Gregor Townsend was always going to retain a strong side for this must-win match.

It's a big opportunity for Chris Harris, the centre who has gone from Test Lion in 2021 to almost the forgotten man as Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones have forged a hugely effective midfield partnership. Harris will be looking to remind Townsend of the qualities that made him a nailed-on starter not so long ago, and press his claim to start in the crucial final pool match against Ireland.

A big day too for Rory Sutherland, another Lion two years ago. What better shop window to find a new club than the World Cup?

With Townsend saying the final 20 minutes could be key against Tonga, the head coach certainly has plenty attacking weapons to deploy in that final quarter.

Scotland: B Kinghorn; K Steyn, C Harris, S Tuipulotu, D van der Merwe; F Russell, B White; R Sutherland, G Turner, Z Fagerson, R Gray, S Cummings, J Ritchie, R Darge, J Dempsey.

Replacements: E Ashman, P Schoeman, W Nel, S Skinner, M Fagerson, G Horne, H Jones, D Graham.